Japan Unemployment Increase?

Japan's unemployment rate surprisingly increased 20 basis points, from 2.5% to 2.7%.

This is the first time that unemployment rates increased for the last 4 quarters.

Although it might not seem like a lot, looking back at the past few quarters, this rise is one of the highest and it does worry the Bank of Japan and the government.

Not to mention, economists all expect it to hold at 2.5%.

Another worrying data is labor market data demand. The job offers to applicants ratio slipped for the sixth time in 2023 to 1.29. The data is a leading indicator of labor market trends, with the figures implying there were 129 jobs available for every 100 applicants.

So to read the whole set of data together, lower jobs available have propped up the unemployment.

As reported by Daiwa Securities economist Kota Suzuki, manufacturing jobs have shown a downward trend recently, which is tied back to lower overseas demand.

Is this a sign that the world is bracing for an economic slowdown?

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